Another spin test awaits South Africa in Nagpur

Amar Karlekar, the Vidarbha Cricket Association curator predicted the sign of things to come at Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium in Nagpur in an interaction with TOI. "It will turn, surely. It will not be too different from the pitches we have seen so far in the series. India will have the home advantage," Karlekar said.

The pitch, which hosted the Ranji Trophy match between Vidarbha and Assam last month, saw spinners taking 31 of the fallen 37 wickets. "The Assam match was played on this very surface. Vidarbha team management wanted a pitch to help their spinners. I too wanted to see how it turns out. We won that game and we have all seen how the pitch behaved," Karlekar said.

Last time, when these two teams met at Nagpur, the match got over in 4 days with Dale Steyn’s five- wicket haul destroying the Indians. India lost the match by an innings and more. The match between Vidarbha and Assam also saw Umesh Yadav taking 4 wickets on Day One.

But Karlekar doesn’t think that the scenario will repeat again."Frankly, I don't think something like that will be possible this time. It will be very difficult for a fast bowler to repeat that feat on this surface. Of course, if the batsmen gift away wickets, things could be different," the Jamtha curator told TOI.